Amateur-built RV-3 accident near Elbert, Colorado, March 8, 1998
On March 8, 1998 at about 10:10 pm local time, a amateur-built RV-3, registered N99HV, was destroyed in an accident near Elbert, Colorado. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
in-flight failure of the right wing spar (for an undetermined reason) as the pilot was performing aerobatic flight. The airplane's excessive gross weight (for aerobatics) was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 8, 1998 · about 10:10 pm local time
- Place
- Elbert, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RV-3
- Registration
- N99HV · registry record · serial 528
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A witness said the pilot was performing aerobatics, and while maneuvering, the aircraft (acft) went into a nose high attitude as if it was coming to the top of a loop. He said one of the wings suddenly 'folded' up, and 'It looked as if it had bent at the connection between the wing and the fuselage. . . .' The acft then entered an uncontrolled descent & crashed. Metallurgical exam of the right wing revealed overload fractures in the lower & upper main spar caps, which were indicative of upward failure; initial fracture was in the lower cap area. Twisting & upward bending of the main upper spar cap was noted, as well as 'overstress separation.' Five bolt holes were found at the inboard portion of the upper & lower main spar caps with no respective bolts or remnants of such bolts. No deformation or distortion of any of the bolt holes was noted, but circular markings were noted on the forward side of both outboard holes, & similar indications were noted on the aft side of 2 other holes in the lower main spar cap. The investigation did not determine whether the missing bolts had failed & separated during the breakup, or if they had not been reinstalled during previous maintenance/modification. All rivets in both the upper & lower main spar caps were broken through the shanks 'consistent with direct shear separations. No evidence of cracking or breaking of rivet heads . . . was noted.' This was 1 of 3 RV-3s built by Tony Duci & the 2nd to structurally fail in flight. Acft had been modified as an RV-3A, but had not been re-certified as such. Aerobatic gross weight limit (1,050 lbs) had been exceeded by an estimated 120 lbs.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 5,166 hours in all; 22 in this make and model; 4,018 as pilot in command; 2,480 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 755 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1998; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,175 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CO15 CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 5°F (-15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 pm from APA, 29 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N99HV the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW98FA145.